Acids And Bases Essay

682 Words2 Pages

Question:
What is the effect of acids and bases on apple oxidation?

Background Information:

Apple discoloring, is the process of the skin turning brown when bruised and exposed to air. The browning is due to oxygen, O2, reacting with chemicals which breaks down the cells in the fruit. The reaction is called enzymatic oxidation a process that is started by the enzymes that are present in the apples which starts the browning process of the apple. However, the enzymes are quickly destroyed by chemicals or by high heat. Vitamin C, being a highly reactive anti-oxidant, reacts with the oxygen in the which prevents and slows down the enzymatic oxidation of the apples.
Acids and bases can have various strength. One acid can be stronger than another. The pH scale measures the strength of acids and bases. This scale goes from 1 to 14. 1 is the strongest acid and 6 is the weakest, 8 is the weakest base and 14 is the strongest. 7 is neutral—neither an acid nor a base. The pH of water is 7. The pH of a substance can be measured by indicators. One such indicator is litmus paper — yellowish paper covered by a solution that turns different colors depending on the pH of the substance.
Acids release a hydrogen ion into water (aqueous) solution. You will usually see the formula for an acid with the ionizable hydrogen at the beginning, such as HCl, hydrochloric acid, or H(C2H3O2), acetic acid. Acids neutralize bases in a neutralization reaction. An acid and a base combine to make a salt and water. A salt is any ionic compound that could be made with the anion of an acid and the cation of a base. The hydrogen ion of the acid and the hydroxide ion of the base unite to form water.

Hypothesis
If I put apple slices in a bag with a certain liqu...

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